Manga Machinations

On this episode Seamus finally finishes Revolutionary Girl Utena and Mob Psycho 100, darfox starts Showa: A History of Japan, and dakazu watches Yuri!!! on Ice with his wife while checking out CANDY SAMURAI WARS! and Becchin to Mandara! Then we finally get back to our retrospective review of Osamu Tezuka’s Phoenix by discussing his most critically acclaimed volume!!!(covers volume 4-Karma)

Happy 2017! We celebrate the new year with an extensive discussion about Yuri!!! on Ice to try and break down what the show represent within themes of LGBT. Then dakazu introduces a manga about the actor who brought Zatoichi to life in Japan, Katsushin - Samishigariya no Tensai. Finally, we check out 3 new manga for our Triple Dip section: Angel Densetsu, Reincarnation no Kaben, and Fire Punch!!!

Happy Holidays! This week dakazu checks out another female relationship compilation called mon*mon and he kinda digs the mashup of famous historical figures with generic battles in Reincarnation no Kaben! Then we list off the top manga and anime that we enjoyed(and hated) since our last review and recap our favorites from this past year!!!

This week dakazu checks out the sequel series to Sanzoku Diary called Sanzoku Diary SS, apprehensively checks out a collection of relationships stories by Bunny Drop manga artist Yumi Unita called Toridori Renka, and Seamus likes Yuri!!! on Ice a lot! Then we discuss Mamoru Hosoda’s 2009 anime movie Summer Wars!!!

Seamus and darfox are out again so it’s up to dakazu to tell you all about more manga he’s reading! This week, he’ll be running down manga from Kodansha’s seinen magazines: Morning, Afternoon, Evening, and Young Magazine!!!

On this episode dakazu talks about one of the earliest video game manga with everything from Satan to Swastikas, Game Center Arashi! He also loves the new bleak and violent post-apocalyptic revenge tale of a man on fire(literally), Fire Punch! Then we jump into another volume of Osamu Tezuka’s Phoenix and talk about one of our favorite tales of the immortal bird!!!(covers volume 3-Yamato/Space)

This week dakazu loves tales of bizarre foods in "Kiritani-san cho, sore Kuunsuka!?", darfox gets to read the Dune-like "Imuri", Seamus is working to catch up on "3-gatsu no Lion", we discuss Takashi Miike manga to movie adaptation like "Blade of the Immortal", and rant about "Terra Formars". Then, things get serious during our retrospective of "Phoenix" as we share some personal feelings about the subject matter of death.(covers volume 2-Future)

Toby from The Comic Conspiracy podcast joins us to talk about his history with manga/anime this week! We discuss his favorites like Saint Saiya, Captain Future, Slam Dunk, City Hunter, and more! Also, darfox explains Yuri!!! on Ice to Toby, Seamus updates us on Mizuki Sigeru’s Showa, and dakazu gets into Boku no Shoukibo na Seikatsu where mangaka Shigeyuki Fukumitsu ’s favorite subject is his wife. Finally, we unknowingly start a new retrospective series with Osamu Tezuka’s magnum opus, Phoenix!!!(covers volume 1-Dawn)

Special guest Dawn “Usamimi” from the Anime Nostalgia Podcast joins us this week! She tells us about how she got started in anime/manga fandom and we check out one of her favorite childhood anime movies The Fantastic Adventures of Unico for Manga in Motion! We also discuss A Silent Voice mangaka Yoshitoki Oima’s new series To Your Eternity, dakazu likes a new josei transgender clothing series Boy☆Skirt and the comedic intricacies of a real life husband in Shougi no Watanabe-kun!

This week Seamus check’s out Satoshi Kon’s manga Tropic of The Sea, darfox catches up on Yuri!!! on Ice and March comes in like a Lion, and dakazu shares the Seinfield-esque tales of Utsu Gohan and praises the non-linear storytelling in the fantasy action series Ryuuma no Gagou! We then discuss Seamus’s recommendation the gods lie. for our short series retrospective section, One Shot!!!

On this episode dakazu loves the dramatic reenactments of the Steve Jobs/Bill Gates feud in Steves, darfox checks out the Blood Blockade Battlefront(Kekkai Sensen) OVA, and Seamus finally gets into the March Comes in like a Lion anime! Then we start another triple dip! We discuss the theme of music in manga with Blue Giant, praise the character focused chapters in Musume no Iede(I’m a Runaway Girl), and argue where the line between creativity and titillation are with Joshi Kouhei!!!

This week Seamus is back from his Chicago vacation, dakazu gushes over the current series by Wandering Son manga artist called Musume no Iede(I’m a Runaway Girl) for interweaving various character relationships, and we continue our thoughts of the March Comes in like a Lion and Yuri!!! on Ice anime! Then we jump into another Manga in Motion pick with Redline! We try to dissect this chaotic mess of a movie and breakdown all the references to other anime it crams into it’s 102 minute running time!!!

Seamus is absent this week but we use this opportunity to get Darfox caught up on some manga he missed while he was out! We revisit Golden Kamuy, Vinland Saga, and My Brother’s Husband to get darfox’s thoughts on these series! Also dakazu reads a cute series documenting a mangaka’s husband becoming a ramen chef in Danna ga Kyou Kara Ramenya, but isn’t sure how to feel about the fashion manga Fuku wo Kiru Nara Konna Fuu ni(Do it this way if you wear the clothes)! We also discuss the newly translated My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness!!!

This week we’re joined by listener Miki’s Stopwatch! He talks about his origins in anime and manga and then helps us dive into a huge discussion of recent anime we’ve all been watching. We’ll discuss Orange, The Rose of Versailles, Patlabor, Gakuen Handsome, Keijo!!!!!!!!, Drifters, March Comes in like a Lion, Yuri!!! on Ice, Mob Psycho 100, and much, much more!!!

On this episode Darfox rates Mob Psycho 100 higher than One Punch Man while dakazu finishes My Love Story!! and Inside Mari(Boku wa Mari no Naka) while checking out a remake of Takao Saito’s Survival and a manga adaptation of The Garden of Words that we covered on Manga in Motion 4(episode 64). Then we check out the starting chapters of Yu Yu Hakusho, Historie and WOMBS for our Triple Dip section!!!

This week darfox kicks things off by taking a look at Mizuki Shigeru’s most famous series Gegege no Kitarou, we discuss the lack of mainstream American non-fiction comics, and dakazu considers checking out a “manga” exhibition at the local art museum. Then we conclude our A Silent Voice retrospective by covering the final chapters and sharing our final thoughts on this phenomenal series!!!(covers chapters 43-62)

On this episode we debate the value of sequel manga akin to Boruto, dakazu takes a look at Rensuke Oshikiri’s generic horror manga Sayuri, we discuss the 40th anniversary/finale of Shonen Jump’s longest running series Kochikame, and talk about the new anime seasons of The Eccentric Family and Yowamushi Pedal! Afterwords, we continue with our A Silent Voice retrospective! We delve into some new characters and the continuing drama of this touching series!!!(covers chapters 24-42)

In this episode Seamus looks at another Shigeru Mizuki work, Nonnonba,and dakazu is satisfied with the conclusion of Jisatsutou(Suicide Island). Then we jump into our newest retrospective, A Silent Voice! We explain the significance of the Japanese title, praise the detailed artwork, and examine the great cast of characters and the realism behind their relationships and motivations!!!(covers chapters 1-23)

This week we start off by thanking a listener, we examine characteristics of ONE’s protagonists from One Punch Man & Mob Psycho 100, and Seamus breaks down the levity of lighter chapters in Golden Kamuy! Then we go over the final chapters of Billy Bat before breaking down the series, solving all the mysteries, and giving our overall thoughts on the series as a whole!!!(covers chapters 163-165)

On this episode we reveal our plans for next week, Seamus drops The Highschool Life of a Fudanshi(Fudanshi Koukou Seikatsu) but picks up Houkago Edge, dakazu talks about Nana to Kaoru and Jisatsutou(Suicide Island) ending, we examine the Orange anime and live action adaptations of Yowamushi Pedal and Bleach, and Darfox gets into the popularity of variety shows in Japan! In our Side by Side segment we compare 2 very different baseball manga, Ace of Diamond and H2, but Seamus may be sick of all these sports manga!